Flexible gun mount for aircraft



June 28, 1949. M. WATTER ETAL I FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT FOR AIRCRAFT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 13, 1931 June 28, 1949., 1

M. WATTER .ETAL

FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT-FOR AIRCRAFT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 13, 1931 I '4 l v c M .5 x I o 'g I u 1' O a 1 "l l 0 I I I I I I I I I I r I I I r l l I l u INVENTOR F W ATTORNEYS June 28, I M, WATTER ETAL 2,474,561

' FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT FOR AIRCRAFT Filed Nov. 13, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 M Z 6W) M/flx ATTORNEYS June 28, 1949. M, WATTER ETAL 2,474,561

FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT FOR AIRCRAFT Fil'ed Nov. 13, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS Patented June 28, 1949 -Doherty, East '=-Hartford, Comm, assignors to United Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation,--a

corporation of Delaware iapplicationNovember 13, 1931, serial No. 57-43690 8- Claims. l.

The inve'ntion relates to flexible gun mounts and p'ai ticularly'to machine "mounts for air- 'f'a'ft.

-'I-1'ie invention relates particularly to the ty'pe'of mount set forth in application Serial No..

489f-37ffi1dd9t0b61 I8, '1930, although certain reatures'tue'reorare of general application.

- A gun-mount of that app'ncation'is charace among other things, by an arran ement whereby the major-part of'tl'ie' structure thereof iiiay be disposed Within the -streairil'ines of the fus'lage'and o'u'tof the wind stream in contrast with-"the common types ofmounts in general use at rein the greater portion 'of the gun mount strii tureis situated on the top or the fuselage or exposed to the wind stream.

: bhe'objie'ctof the-present invention is a means for facilit-atirig the stowageof the and mount within the-streamlines of the fuselage or within thecockpit and particularly a means of this character cooperatively functioning with that parti'cular'type of gun mount. Further objectsbf the invention" will hereinafter appear.

For a better understanding of the invention rnce may be had to the accompanying drawiiigs wherein: I

Fi Us a side elevation of an-airplaneshowing onepositi'onof the 'gunin relation to the gunners cockpit,

Fig. 2 is a side view of thegun mount.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mount, v,rFigJ iis-avie'w looking on the sliding'clamp at the base of the gun standard, I

Fig. 5 is a-sectionthrough 5--5of-Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a view of the gun standard sliding clamp,

Fg. "7 -is'-"a' section through line fi -1 of Fig. 6, I

8 is rsection through line 8--8 of Fig; 6, and

ifji' igs. 9 and 1-0 show certain constructional details.

"Theinvention'is shown'as embodied in an airplane having a fuselage L'bip1anes'2 and 3, car-- riage ll power plant 5 and cookpits 6 and I. In the par 'oular embodiment shown, a machine'g'l'ln 81s" mounted on a vn'stanu'arda to be operated iii "the 'rear cockpit. The gun standard 9, t iih in this instance is a straight rod, is secured t'y univ rsal connection it 'to the am gn iidrng on tube l2 lying approximately vertically a the from or rear ofthe cockpit. The gun standard 9 may assume any angular position about the universal pivot H3 and extends slightly above the rim of the cockpit and is provided at the top with a suitable swivel or trunnion mount,

I fastening-means "$2 at -'some"distance from the as required for the type of ="g'11n carried. The standard 9 is adjustable to various angular positions and held in'the' desired positions by retain- I-'3"which diverge from the standard and are iv'ota-uy connected to collars I5 at one end andtb'iini'versal joints 33' on gun standard '9 at tli'ebther end. The pivotal-connections between the arms tit-and the'collars l5 comprise swiveling members I l mounted on the collars similar to those set-forth in the aforesaid application. The guide members It are rigidlyseoure'd to the transverse members It or the-fuselage. The collars t5 ca ry locking latches H. The locking members I Q are journalled'on the transverse fuselage mem bers l6 and maybe turried by a cable 2| which extends to the hand grip" 22 on the gun standard, whichfg'rip when pressed overcomes the tension of holding springsis'turning'meiribers l9 and li'ftihg'the lockinglatches I! out of engagement with the-locking notches of'i'nembers ['9 (Fig. 3), permitting the standard to be moved to the position desired. In the particular embodiment shown herein a resilient or elastic cable 24 is pro-- vided'f'or interconnecting the retaining arms [3 and again-ea over the pulleys indicated at 25 and 2'6. "The purpose of this cable mechanism, when employed in the nio'ui'it'isto assist the gunner in moving the mount around in the cockpit and'to assist-inreturning -the-slides or collars I5 to the rear 'position. Te'nsio'nof the cable may be adju-st'ed by altering-the-position of pulley 26 by turning the nut 'QGd-"Q'n its eyebolt 26b.

The-"gun andstandard maybe adjusted vertioaily"b'y withdrawing locking pin 28 from the h ol'esfin slhtted tUbe 'lZ'b'y means of knob 29 on clamp II "at the lowerend (if-standard 9. Clamp H is then free to slide-along slotted tube 1-2 and can be locked into position'at either the top or bottom of tube l2 by locking pin 28. For assisting the-gunner in raising thegun from the lower or stowed position tothe upper or firing position,

there is provided 'a'resilient-cable 3'0 running over pulley 3| and'h'aving'on'e end attached to'a criclriait'and'the other end attached to clamp I I.

As illustrated'inFig. '1 the gun and a small section of the'gun standard are the only parts of the combination projecting above the fuselage in position, the major-part of the mechanism h'eiifgfencljose'd within "the istr'eain li'ne's -of the fuselage. The "wind therefore, feduced to a minimum even when the gun is exposed to the air stream, and in certain positions of the standard the gun is almost entirely out of the wind stream, as for example when the gun itself is in an approximately horizontal position and behind the windshield 28' or is partly within the cockpit, depending upon the different positions capable of being assumed by the standard 9 which is pivotally connected at a point rearward of the cockpit. The rearward pull of the gun as the standard moves from the vertical is counteracted by the elastic cable 24, when employed, the tension increasing as the angle increases. When it is desired to fire over the side the standard 9 is moved laterally, one or both of the sliding c01- lars l moving along the guides 16 depending upon the character of the movement iven the standard.

When it is desired to move the gun to any desired position, hand grip 22 is pressed overcoming the tension of spring 23 and simultaneously members I9 are turned, lifting the locking latches out of engagement, whereupon the gun may be shifted as desired until grip 22 is released and the holding spring 23 returns the locking members to alinement and. spring 18 forces the locking latches into engagement. When it is desired to stow the gun, in the particular example of construction shown, knob 29 is first pulled out, freeing loci:- ing pin 28 from the holes in the upper end of tube 12 and the gun is slid down until the magazine holder rests on top of the fuselage. To bring the gun into firing position from this first or ready position it can be jerked up, so that locking pin 28 springs back into the locking holes, and then swung into any position desired for action. To stow the gun it is rotated from the ready position into vertical position, muzzle up, and also rotated clockwise through an angle of 90 about the axis of gun standard 9, it is then swung over to the right hand side of the cockpit, and slid down until locking pin 28 is forced by spring 28a into the lower holes of tube l2, holding the gun in its lowered position with the magazine holder resting on the rear outer edge of the cockpit.

In the particular embodiment shown, retaining arms 13 and lines drawn between the collars [5 form within closely approximate limits isosceles triangles in all positions of the standard though the relative swiveling of the pivotal connections I4 may result in slight departures therefrom in certain positions.

The flexibility of the mount is unlimited and the gun may be readily moved in any direction and according to the natural motion of movement. The mount is substantially unexposed to the airstream in all positions and the greater part thereof is removed from the cockpit while the gun and the standard may be stowed, as indicated above into a position to one side of the cockpit leaving practically the whole cockpit free for personnel and equipment.

We claim:

1. In aircraft a main body having a gunners compartment and a gun mounted therein for universal adjustment, the gun mount including a guide member in the lower part of the compartment, a slide member adjustably mounted on said guide, a standard projecting downwardly into the compartment and pivotally mounted at its lower end on said slide member and adjustable bracing mechanism disposed within the stream-lines of the main body and connected with said standard.

2. In aircraft a main body having a gunners compartment therein and a gun mounted for universal adjustment, a guide member extending generally in an upward direction and disposed in the lower part of said compartment, said gun being mounted upon a standard projecting downwardly into the compartment and pivot lly fastened at its lower end to a member ad'ustably mounted on said guide whereby the gunlmay be swung to various positions about the cockpit, the gun in certain positions being disposed within the cockpit and out of the wind stream.

3. A gun mount of the character set forth in claim 2 including a biasing device connected to the gun standard and tending to elevate the standard along said guide.

4. A gun mount of the character set forth in claim 2 including a biasing device connected to the gun standard and tending to elevate the standard along said guide together with means for locking the standard in its upper and lower positions.

5. A flexible gun mount comprising an upwardly extending guide member, a carriage device adjustably mounted thereon, a standard mounted at its lower end for universal movements on said carriage device, a pair of guide members and means adjustably interconnecting the pair of guide members and the standard whereby the three points of connection of said means with the standard and the pair of guide members form substantially an isosceles triangle in all positions.

6. In a gun mount of the character set forth in claim 2, an elastic cord biasing the sliding member to which the standard is attached in an up ward direction when the gun is in the lowered position, and means for locking the sliding member in either its upper or lower position.

7. In a gun mount of the character set forth in claim 5 wherein means are provided for readily locking and releasing the said adjustable interconnecting means between the said pair of guide members and the standard.

8. A gun mount of the character set forth in claim 5 wherein the first mentioned guide member is inclined in an upward direction towards the pair of second mentioned guide members, and the latter are inclined downwardly from the standard in a divergent manner.

MICHAEL WATTER. H. W. DOHERTY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date;

1,280,304 Roberts Oct. 1, 918 1,343,072 Allen July 27, 920 1,364,525 Scarfl Jan. 4, 921 1,556A'78 Benet Oct. 6, 1925 1,561,992 Marazzl Nov. 1'7, 1925 1,598,004 Paulus Aug. 31., 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 15,208 Great Britain 1915 128,244 Great Britain June 26, 1919 130,097 Great Britain July 31, 1919 299,949 Great Britain Nov. 8, 1928 332,398 Great Britain July 24, 1930 492,425 France Mar. 19, 1919 

